THE FEAR IN THE FIGHT
by WaitedLongEnough
Summary: Booth and Bones are happy and waiting for the birth of their new child until the unexpected happens. Will their relationship emerge stronger? Or will it be too much? *13 chapters done but the story is still in progress* I'd love reviews and suggestions.
1. Chapter 1

**The Fear in the Fight **

**Chapter 1 – Protection**

"… may be Preeclampsia," Brennan shook her head slightly and re-focused on what Dr. Edwards was saying. She'd come in for her routine monthly visit, and expected her usual 45 minute exam. The doctor was explaining that she'd seen something in her blood work that caused some concern and was now talking about further tests.

"Wait," Brennan interrupted. "Are you saying I could have… preeclampsia?"

"It's a possibility, Dr. Brennan. That's why I want to do more tests. It's important that you don't imagine the worst here. As you know, it's a dangerous condition but it can be treated."

Brennan tried not to panic and breathed in deeply. She wished she hadn't insisted that Booth go in to the office to get a head start on researching their most recent case. She wanted him here with her.

"Ok… so preeclampsia would mean a risk of seizures, hospitalization, pre-term birth…"

Dr. Edwards interrupted, "Only in some cases. We just need to learn more before we start jumping the gun. I've scheduled you to come in next week for more tests. That's as fast as I could get you in." She handed Brennan a small slip of paper with the details. "Meanwhile, try not to worry about this until we have clear results."

Brennan watched the doctor leave and realized the irony. She was usually the expert in the room that told others not to draw conclusions until they had evidence, but no matter how hard she tried to suppress it she was panicking. She slowly slid off the examination table and began to get dressed.

* * *

><p>Booth breezed into the lab, waved his hand at the team, and quickly walked toward Brennan's office. Before coming in, he paused to observe her through the glass door. She was sitting still on the couch cradling her stomach. Booth smiled. From the moment she told him she was pregnant, she'd been approaching life apprehensively. Sometimes, he could visibly see her questioning herself. He knew it was new ground for her. She'd done many things in her life but being a mother was a challenge that she felt she really didn't have the background tools to master. She'd told him once that she didn't intellectually understand the maternal instinct because she hadn't had a complete relationship with her mother. He'd explained to her that the instinct she was describing was less about intellect. The bond was more about the protective pull a person feels when they see themselves in a child that needs their love and support. He hadn't pointed it out to her yet but he was witnessing her maternal instinct coming out more and more these last five months.<p>

"Hey Bones…" He said as he pushed through the door and slid on to the couch next to her.

She jumped slightly. "Haven't I told you about scaring me while I'm pregnant? Are you trying to make me deliver early?" She looked at him sternly. For a moment, he thought he was really in trouble. Then, her face softened and she leaned over to kiss his cheek. When she pulled back, he took the opportunity and lightly grabbed her face to kiss her lips. She smiled.

"So…I found some interesting info on the landlord case. He's got a history of moving every two to three years and leaving a string of heartbreaks and violence behind." Booth pulled his small tablet out of his jacket pocket and continued. "The thing is I'm not quite sure we can nail him on just those details. We've got to find someone who can put him in that house on February 20." He turned to look at Bones. She seemed to be listening but something about her face told him she wasn't.

"Bones?"

"Yes, I heard you."

"You've got nothing to say?" He'd never been able to get that many words out collectively when talking to her about a case. She always had a tendency to dispute at least one thing he'd said.

"Nope, I'm good. Let's just interview Jane Dougherty and see if she can give us what we need." Her delivery was lackluster, very un-bones like he noted. He wondered if it was about her just being sick of this case or hormones. Either way, he had a meeting with his team at three so he had to get back.

"Sounds like a plan. I've got a meeting I've got to get back to, but we'll talk more at home. Ok?"

"Alright," she said as she lifted herself from the couch slowly and walked toward her desk. "Will you bring something for dinner?"

"Sure, what are we feeling today?" He gestured to the baby in her stomach.

"Nothing really. Surprise me. "

"Will do," he pushed the door open with his back and blew her a kiss.

As she watched him hurry out past the lab area, she wondered how she was going to tell him what she'd learned today. He wouldn't take it well, especially when she broke down the statistics. Preeclampsia didn't just put the baby she was carrying in danger. It meant that she was in danger too. One small change in her condition during delivery and she could die. He would internalize that. On a subconscious illogical level, he would blame himself for putting them in this situation. She was strong enough to deal with it based on the facts. She was sure she would be able to disconnect from the emotional side of it once she had time to digest the information. She'd done it before in other situations. But if this was true, Booth wouldn't be the same and until she had to change him she wanted to protect him.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 2 – Declaration**

"Something's wrong."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact. Booth leaned back on the kitchen counter and looked at her, waiting for a response. It had been three days and Brennan still couldn't bring herself to broach the subject. She knew he would feel like something was off. Booth was a perceptive man. It's what made him a great agent. It was also what made him a great partner when they were just friends, and now when they were more. She put the fork she had been using to play with her spaghetti squash casserole down and apprehensively looked up at him.

"Something is wrong, and I want you tell me what is now." He folded his arms and stared at her.

"What are you talking about?" She said, quickly dropping her eyes. The one thing she'd never been able to do well was lie to him.

"You've been weird for the past three days. Look at me, Bones. What's going on? "

"I've just been a little stressed over getting that research done for the new exhibition." She picked up her fork again and re- focused on twirling the long squash strands around it.

Booth closed the distance between them, placed his hand on her chin and gently tilted her face up so she would look at him again. Her eyes instantly teared.

"Is it the baby? Tell me."

She watched him prepare himself for the worst.

"I don't know yet, but the doctor says I might have preeclampsia." Her last words cracked under the emotion and she silently willed herself to get a grip.

"You said everything was fine."

"I didn't want you to worry until I actually knew."

"The operative word here is 'we', until 'we' actually knew. You think it's fair for you to shoulder the burden of worry until there's actually something to worry about? Come on, Bones…" He wearily sat down in the chair next to her. "Ok so, explain what this means."

"If I have it, it basically means that my blood pressure could shoot off the charts while carrying our baby. The doctor would have to closely monitor me to make sure I'm in a safe range for the rest of the pregnancy. Hospitalization or preterm birth may be necessary if I start getting dangerously high, or having seizures. "

"Seizures? Ok. We can handle this, right? The doctor watches you like a hawk, and we do what we need to do to keep you stable. "

"One more thing. If something happens when I go into labor, death is a possibility." She delivered the news as if she was telling him that the sky was blue or dogs had four legs.

Booth froze for a second. The word "death" had sent his world into a tailspin faster than he could process.

"I don't understand what you're saying. If we're watching everything closely, don't we reduce the chances that anything bad could happen?"

"In theory, yes, but statistics show that even after a doctor diagnoses and monitors the issue, women and babies have died due to problems the doctor couldn't predict." She slid her hands into his and looked at him.

"I hear you," he paused and took a deep breath. "But that will not happen. Period. I won't let it."

"You know I love to hear you say things like that, but this you can't control."

"Watch me." He said, pulling her up into a hug. "This is going to be fine." He quickly kissed her lips, slid his hands up to hold both sides of her face, and looked into her eyes. "There is no way I'm losing you or our baby." Brennan held on to him tightly. She hoped his declaration was enough.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Fear in the Fight **

**Chapter 3 – Damage**

"Dr. Brennan, Mr. Booth… we have the final test results. You do have preeclampsia." Dr. Edwards placed the file down on the exam desk and paused to look at them.

Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and squeezed tightly as if he was trying to distract her. She focused on breathing normally.

He cleared his throat. "What medications are we going to need? What's the treatment?"

"Well, I'm going to prescribe some blood pressure medication and depending on how it goes, Dr. Brennan may need to be on bed rest. It's a good thing we caught this now. The baby is growing normally so nothing has impacted that yet. If we can keep your blood pressure normal and everything stays pretty stable, we won't have to worry about early delivery, but we definitely need to watch you closely for your safety and the baby's."

Brennan sat still. She was still trying to process. A thousand things were running through her head at the same time and for the first time in her life, she was speechless. Booth looked at her as he spoke, putting his left hand over the hand he was already holding just to reinforce that he was there supporting her.

"So doc, as I'm sure you know we're scared now. How much danger are we in here? How nervous should we be?" He asked as he focused on managing the knot that had developed in his stomach.

Dr. Edwards tilted her head and looked at them, "I'm not going to lie to you. You should be nervous. Dr. Brennan knows the statistics. She and your baby are at high risk here. If the tiniest thing happens that destabilizes her condition, we're looking at dramatic results. You also need to watch her for seizures or blood clots. This is serious, Mr. Booth, but if we pay very close attention we may be able to get through this and keep everyone you love healthy."

"Thank you, Dr. Edwards," Brennan said, finally finding her voice.

"Of course, my nurse has called in your prescription. You just need to pick it up as soon as you go home. I'm starting you on two five milligram tablets a night. We're going to have you come back next week to run some tests and see how you're doing," She opened the door and turned back to look at them. "I promise you. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you both are okay. "

When the door closed, Brennan turned to look at Booth. She was examining him for damage. Physically, he was much stronger than she was but when it came to his heart, he was much more fragile than he let on. She'd known this from the start. Initially, she viewed it as his only big weakness. Then eventually, she'd learned to love him for it. Once, she'd pushed him away from a relationship because she couldn't bear hurting him. Now, she wanted to push him away to keep him from feeling the way she did right now.

"Stop it," he squeezed her hand, and met her eyes. "I don't need protection. I'm only worried about you and our baby."

"What are we going to do?"

"We're going to do what the doctor tells us to do. We're going to be extremely careful… and we're going to pray."

"Booth, even this won't…"

"Shhh… I believe enough for the both of us. That's all we need for a miracle."

Brennan let go of his hand, slid off the examination table, and began to get dressed. "I think we need to be real about this. Prepare for the worst. "

"Why talk about something that's not going to happen?"

"Booth, I know you don't want to believe this, but we can't just walk around denying the statistics…"

"I heard her, Bones," he interrupted. "But I'm not going there with you. I can't," he breathed in deeply to center himself before continuing. "Anything beyond us getting through this as a healthy family is unimaginable to me. "


	4. Chapter 4

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 4 – Adjustment**

Booth laid in their bed listening to the sounds of the night air outside. He couldn't get comfortable. No matter how hard he tried to go to sleep he couldn't make it stick. He turned from one side over to the other. He nodded off only to wake back up again. He wondered if he'd sleep again until after the baby was born and they were officially out of danger. He moved to wrap his arms around Bones, and relaxed a little when he got close enough to feel her heart beating. His mind kept going back to that examination room and the doctor's words. He was still wrapping his head around the fact that he and Bones were creating a family, and now he had to deal with the idea that that family might be in danger. He inadvertently squeezed her tighter.

She sighed, turned to him and opened her eyes slightly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep…" He softly kissed her ear. She needed rest. He had to make sure she got it.

"Don't lie to me. You know better than that," she turned to look at him. "Tell me…"

"Ok…I'm terrified," he said quickly. "I can't get rid of this knot in my stomach."

She reached up to touch his face. "It's okay so am I."

"Not you, the scientist. I was hoping you were going to teach me how to put the wall up between my emotions and the facts."

"Normally, I would be your go-to on that. I really thought I could, but about seven months ago the sturdy wall I had up came crumbling down when we finally got together. So in short, I've got nothing…" She gave him a quick, concerned smile and placed his hand on her stomach.

"It's just that I'm feeling a little helpless here. You know I have a really hard time with that."

"I know, but we're in this together remember? That's what you said. Two hearts and heads have to be better than one, right?"

"Yeah… I just…"

"Shhh… " She gently pulled him into her and place his head on her shoulder. "Sleep… we'll talk about it in the morning."

* * *

><p>Brennan slowly opened her eyes and peeked at the ceiling. Booth's head was resting on the top of her pregnant stomach. He'd finally gone to sleep to the sound of their baby's heart beat. She smiled and rested her hand on his tousled hair. Her touch woke him.<p>

"Hey…" he said, lifting his head. "Oh sorry… are you okay?" He rubbed the place his head had been and looked at her.

"I'm fine. Just hungry," a smile slowly crept over her face. "You always hear stories about pregnancy and hunger but it really is true. This one definitely likes to eat." She tapped her stomach lightly.

"I'm on the case." Booth rolled over to lift himself out of the bed. Brennan started to follow him up and he stopped her.

"No, you have to start taking it easy. I can bring you breakfast. Stay put."

She liked the idea of staying in bed but hoped this wasn't the first sign of "protective Booth" showing up. She secretly kind of liked it when he went all macho protective on her, but it always ended with her getting fed up and having to tell him he went too far.

She reached over and grabbed the nearest book off her nightstand. Gently, she opened her paperback version of "What to Expect When You're Expecting". She smiled to herself. Having a scientific mind, she never thought such simple, instructional reading would ever be in her library. She'd somehow assumed that as an anthropologist she would miraculously be able to understand and quickly explain everything going on with her body while she created another life. How wrong she was. The technical stuff was easy, but there were things that to her shock she couldn't find an explanation for like the funny feeling she had that she was carrying a girl. She had no evidence. She just touched her stomach one day and knew she was connecting with her daughter. She hadn't told Booth yet, and probably wouldn't until it was confirmed at the doctor's office next month. She didn't want him grinning at her while waxing poetic about her finally getting in touch with some kind of spiritual connection.

"Here we are…" He said entering the bedroom, balancing a breakfast tray with orange juice, eggs, bacon and toast. "Breakfast is served." He placed the tray down over Brennan's lap and laid a cloth napkin over her baby belly. "Enjoy!"

"You're not eating?" She said picking up the fork and knife. She tried to contain her excitement, but their child was causing a hunger pain that she didn't think she'd ever experienced in her life.

"I will. I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of first. The look in your eyes was a little dangerous," he sat down on the bed and smiled.

"Whatever… you try carrying a human being the size and weight of a bowling ball and see how you like it…" She rolled her eyes, placed a forkful of egg in her mouth and sighed in pleasure.

"Now, that sounds familiar. I love it when you make that sound." He tilted his head to the side, gave her the look that always turned her mind to butter, and slid his hand up her leg.

She slowly smiled. "And that's how we got here in the first place…"

Booth laughed and stood. "I can't help it. You'll always be sexy to me – pregnant, sick, with an AARP card. It doesn't matter," he leaned down and kissed her slowly.

"So what time are we leaving?" She said biting into a piece of bacon.

"Leaving? Oh, yeah… about that… The good news is you don't have to leave. "

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the doctor said you should take it easy, right? I just called Cam and told her you needed today to rest."

Brennan squared her jaw and looked up at him. "You did what?"

"Don't get that look. It's just for today so we can figure out what to do next."

"Booth, I don't need you to…" He quickly touched her lips to silence her.

"I'm not getting crazy. I promise. I did have the urge to tell Cam you were on leave until the baby is born, but I tempered that for fear of serious Bones retribution. I just said you wouldn't be in today.

I think we need to talk about how to adjust to this and keep everyone healthy. "

She sighed. "I accept your explanation. Although, I don't think much needs to change. I'll take my prescription and pay attention to how I'm feeling. That's all we really can do."

"I don't know, Bones. Why not slow it down from the outset? I mean, why put yourself at risk at all?"

"I knew this was coming…"

"Don't do that…" he interrupted, "You know I only have our best interest at heart here. We don't know what could put you at risk so why not be careful from here on out?"

"Because I don't know how to be this woman, I don't know how to sit at home and wait for a baby to come."

"It wouldn't be as bad as you think. We can bring all of your office material here. You can still work, just from the living room."

"I hate this."

"So do I, but you're the one who said we have to be real here. You're in danger. We have to adjust. I'm not even that comfortable leaving you here by yourself, but I know not having a little bit of space would drive you insane. My office is closer to you here than at the Smithsonian so if something happens I can get to you quickly."

"But I won't be able to help you in the lab…"

"The squints will step up. Besides, you can see everything on the computer or we can set up the TV to connect to the lab camera. We can make this work. Please, Bones… I'm already a mess as it is. I can't be worried about you doing things you shouldn't in the field."

"Alright, alright… I can't say it's irrational," she leaned back in the bed. "I really don't like it, but if it means we're at less risk for something horrible happening I'll do it."

Booth sat down on the side of the bed and hugged her tightly. "We just have three more months. He or she will be here soon. Okay?"

She kissed his cheek. "Okay."


	5. Chapter 5

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 5 – Research **

Brennan heard the front door click open and sweeped the stack of research she'd been reading under one of the Smithsonian binders sitting on the coffee table. Quickly, she curled back up in the corner of the couch and tried to act natural.

She was still having a hard time accepting the idea that she had no control over the risk that was threatening the health of herself and their baby. She was a scientist after all. There had to be a scientific solution to this somewhere. She'd tried to be cool and just wait it out, but on about day 6 of her self-imposed "home-rest" her inquisitive nature overtook her. As soon as Booth left in the morning, she was on her computer googling research, tests and experimental treatments that would significantly lower the chances of something horrible happening when she went into labor.

"Honey, I'm home!" Booth yelled with sarcasm in his voice. He immediately swung his suit jacket at the arm chair in the corner of the living room and it landed with a thud. "Everything good?" He said leaning down to kiss her.

"Let's see… I've discovered a new game show that had at least one or two questions I couldn't answer, and I'm currently in the process of trying to decipher why women watch these low-intelligence shows called soap operas," she picked up the remote to change the channel. "I am finding the History Channel to be fairly interesting although some of the evidence behind the stories is a little shaky."

"Well, at least you're entertaining yourself." Booth said with a smirk as he plopped down on the other end of the couch, and lifted her feet to give them a massage.

"I'm sure the case you're working is much more interesting. What happened today?"

"Not much. Sweets is ecstatic about being out in the field with me talking to witnesses. I wouldn't tell him this but he is quite helpful when it comes to uncovering motive and reasoning."

"You should tell him. He knows you consider him a friend, but he'd faint if he heard you say anything remotely positive about his work."

"I'll think about it. I don't want him going all James Bond on me because he starts getting arrogant about his abilities." He leaned his head back on the couch.

"Tired?"

"A little. I have a new appreciation for your abilities when it comes to picking up the evidence we need at the scene. I spent the better part of this morning double checking everything to make sure we gathered all the evidence we needed to examine."

"Hodgins didn't work the scene?"

"He did but he's a bug and soil guy. His focus is where his expertise lie versus you're a master of all trades."

"I am very good, aren't I?" She smiled at him.

Booth smiled back. "Yes, Bones. You're pretty damn good. "


	6. Chapter 6

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 6 – Desperation**

"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Dr. Borovsky. I'll be there on Monday."

Brennan hung up the phone and added the appointment to her cell phone calendar. It had been a month and she'd finally found someone whose research was solid enough to warrant a try. The kicker was that it was based on alternative medicine. Everything in her flinched. She was really going to try taking garlic, hawthorne, and fish oil to keep she and her baby healthy to term. It was against everything she believed in, but the scientific solution was being very hard on her. The Nifedipine the doctor prescribed was actually making her weak and giving her headaches so severe Booth was afraid to leave the house. It was also making her so nauseous she had to eat soup, and drink smoothies and juices.

It was getting harder and harder to make Booth leave her every day. He was scared to walk out the door, and she was having a difficult time repressing her need for him to stay. In her mind, him staying with her would only make him more affected, more emotional about their situation. She wanted him to go so he could focus on something else and get through a day without being worried about the state of their family.

She put the phone down on the night stand and rolled over to her left side in the bed. She was tired. Booth was due home at any minute and she wanted the energy to get up and talk to him about his day. Away from the work and the colleagues she loved, she was feeling isolated. Angela and Hodgins had come by a couple of times with the baby. Sweets was a little more conscious of invading her space so he'd skyped her from his office. Cam checked on her through Booth mainly because she was concerned about being tricked into violating the rule he'd instituted regarding talking about anything going on in the lab. Brennan looked up at the ceiling and sighed, just three more months to go. If she could just keep it together for three more months, their daughter would be here and they would be safe. She heard the front door swing open and quickly rose to put her feet on the floor. It was a bad decision. As soon as she stood, the dizziness hit her like a freight train and she fell with a thud.

"BONES!"

She heard Booth's panicked yell and tried to get up. He was running so fast she heard him hit the bedroom doorway hard from the momentum when he tried to stop.

"Are you okay?" He picked her up from floor and slid her onto the bed. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You fell."

"Yeah, I just got dizzy." She rubbed the pain in her hip and tried to suppress her anger at the whole situation, but it didn't work and desperation flew out of her mouth before she could catch it.

"I'm SO sick of this!" She threw the throw pillow next to her against the wall and immediately tears pooled in her eyes.

He sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I know." He said rocking her.

"NO, you DON'T know! " She pushed away from his embrace. "Look, the medication is not working. It's time for another approach."

"What are you talking about, Bones? Your blood pressure is stable. The baby seems to be healthy. It is working…"

"But, I'm dizzy and tired all the time. I can't get any research done because I can't think. I'm not myself!"

"Ok, I get it, but let's talk to the doctor and see if there's another…."

"Solution? There's not. At least not using traditional medicine," she paused. "I have an appointment with another doctor."

"Ok, you want another opinion? That's fine. Let's go."

"He's not really another opinion. Dr. Borovsky practices alternative medicine."

Booth rose from the bed and turned to look at her. "You CAN'T be serious. You mean roots and herbs alternative medicine? You're kidding me, right?"

"Actually no, I really have an appointment on…"

He interrupted. "You want to see this quack about the preeclampsia? What happened to being rational?"

"I am being rational. I've examined his research and he seems to have enough evidence to warrant further investigation."

"We're talking about you and our baby here. This is not a science experiment! No."

"What do you mean, no? You haven't even given it any consideration."

"I don't need to. We're talking about the difference between a medical degree and a guy who thinks berries and roots are the cure for illnesses."

"You don't think I've considered all the options here? You know it's against my make up to do anything that doesn't first rely on evidence. This is me telling you that I want to do this."

"And I'm telling you, it doesn't matter. It doesn't make sense, period. I should have a say in this and the answer is no."

Brennan sat silently and looked at him for a moment. He was angry. She knew this face. This was the face he had when he meant what he said. There was no use trying to convince him anymore. She stood slowly and walked towards the bedroom door. When she got to the hallway, she paused.

"I hear what you're saying, but I'm still going to see the doctor on Monday." She said over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

Booth followed her quickly. "So I don't matter here? That's what you're saying. I thought we were a family. "

"We are. It's just that in this case, my rational decision should trump your emotional response."

"So you're being rational when you say that you're going to let some guy prescribe, and I use that term loosely, some roots and berries that you HOPE are going to keep you and our baby healthy."

"YOU are not in this body, Booth. You don't know what it's like to not have control of your own existence anymore. To be subject to medications that are limiting what you can and can't do everyday! So YOU can't just unilaterally decide what will and won't work to try to bring our baby to term. I'm discussing it because I know you have the right to an opinion, but I am the doctor here. Why can't you trust me on this? "

"I don't want you hurt, ok! You have to understand that. I don't want ANYTHING happening to you. There are too many unknowns with this."

"You always talk about faith, right? You have faith in God, but there is nothing that scientifically proves his existence. I'm asking you to have faith in me, and what I'm trying to do here. I'm not thinking about anything but me and this baby right now. And I think THIS is the best option. It will keep me sane and healthy, free from this ridiculous fatigue, nausea and dizziness. It gives the baby the nutrients she needs to kick up her immune system and regulate all the systems that will keep development running naturally. I've done my research. You know I would never put this family at risk. Just please trust me on this." She looked at him and waited.

Booth took a deep breath and leaned back against the hallway wall with folded arms. Since he and Brennan had finally given in to the love they felt for each other, he'd never been so afraid of losing anything in his life. The idea that something could happen to her or the child that was evidence of the love between them was paralyzing. So much so that he almost couldn't breathe. He knew she was pushing him out of the house everyday in an effort to keep him from thinking about all of the possibilities, but it wasn't working. He thought about them all day. He worried at his desk when he was supposed to be doing paperwork. He had different versions of the same basic dream every night and woke up in a cold sweat. It would start with them arriving at the hospital in labor. In the delivery room, the complications began. There were different endings. Either the baby died or she did. He couldn't get it out of his psyche. It was even hurting his work. He wasn't as quick on his feet. Cases were getting harder to solve because his instincts were off. Now , here she was asking him to trust a scenario that didn't make even a little bit of sense to him. But she was the doctor. Her strength was in the research and analysis of evidence. And even though she hadn't said it out loud, he knew that she loved him and their baby more than her own life. The problem was that somewhere deep inside of him he knew that was the thing he should be most afraid of.

He pushed himself off the wall and lightly pulled her toward him. He brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"Fine, I'll back off and let you make the call, but please be sure it's the right one. Remember I love you more than life, Bones. You have our future in your hands." Booth guided her chin up with his fingertips, kissed her, and walked back into their bedroom to change clothes.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 7 – Concern**

Brennan turned over to her right side expecting to feel Booth's arms around her. When she didn't, her body instantly noticed something was off and her eyes opened. She looked around the dark bedroom, and then heard him in the kitchen. She moaned and rolled out of the bed.

"You're up early." She said waddling into the kitchen. He was sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee.

"Yeah," he said as he turned to look at her briefly, and then went back to the newspaper he was reading. "What happened to you getting your rest?"

"I have the doctor's appointment today so I need to get dressed."

"Right," he turned the page in the living section and continued reading.

She paused to look at him. His short, quick answers were a clear indication that he wasn't going to get over this quickly. He was still mad. She stretched up to grab a mug from the top shelf and poured. For about 10 minutes the room was completely silent. The sheer tension almost made her want to run for cover.

Booth broke it. "So, do you want me to come with you?"

"Not with an attitude."

"Really, Bones? You expect me to be jumping for joy about this?"

"I just mean that you don't need to bring that energy in the room. You don't like this. I get it. But you said you would let me choose, so that means you have to get over it at some point, right?"

"Not necessarily."

"So you're going to give me the cold shoulder until the baby is born? That should be really interesting…"

"Of course I'm not, but I can't pretend. And what really scares me is I'm not sure I would be able to forgive you if something goes wrong."

"It won't. Trust me."

"I always want to do that, but sometimes you make it extremely hard."

Brennan walked over to hug him around his neck. "I love you and I love this baby. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing threatens this little life we're leading. " She kissed him on his cheek and started to pull away. He caught her head and turned to kiss her back.

* * *

><p>"How could you let her do that?" Angela's eyes squinted and she looked as if she wanted to hit him.<p>

"LET her do what?"

Booth had swung by the lab after dropping Brennan back off at the house. He'd insisted on going with her to see Dr. Borovsky. He wanted to stand eyeball to eyeball with the man and let him know in no uncertain terms that if anything happened to his family while under his care, there would be hell to pay. During the ride back to the apartment, Brennan punished him by taking him through an explanation of why emotions had no place in medicine. She paused only for a moment to ask him to drop a couple of files off to Angela.

"Alternative medicine? Really?" She put her hand on her hip and stared at him. "I'm the most eclectic geek in here and even I wouldn't trust my baby to alternative medicine."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Angela."

"Booth, come on. You believe in that stuff?"

"Absolutely not, I tried to talk her out of it. She doesn't even believe in it. She just got to a point where she couldn't bare the side effects of the medicine she was taking. You know she can't stand it when she can't think."

"But why didn't she talk…."

"…to the doctor to get something adjusted? Yeah, I tried that. She wasn't hearing it."

"So roots and berries?"

"Yep, apparently roots and berries. If anything happens, I'm putting the so-called doctor down. Believe it."

Booth was pained. She could see it on his face. He usually got this look when he couldn't do what he knew he needed to do to save someone. She'd seen it plenty of times over the past six years where Brennan was involved. It was obvious that there was an argument that he didn't win.

* * *

><p>"Hello?" Cam ran into her office and picked up her cell.<p>

"Cam, is Booth still there?"

"Oh…," Cam leaned over to look out into the lab through her office window. "No, looks like he's already left the building."

"Ok, thanks."

"Hey Brennan… How are you? I know we haven't really talked since you've been home."

"I'm relatively ok. Bored most of the time, but I'm dealing with it. Booth says everything is good in the lab?"

"Yes, everything's ok here. We do miss you though."

"But I thought Mr. Bray's knowledge of the basics was acceptable on the Smith case. I wasn't aware that he would have limitations when it came to entry examination. You know you can always call me if you feel you're not getting the information you need to…"

Cam interrupted, "No, Dr. Brennan, Wendell is fine, very knowledgeable in fact. I mean we miss you, your presence here."

"Oh, thanks, Cam. I miss all of you too."

"Can I ask you something?" Cam overheard the discussion between Angela and Booth. She knew it wasn't her place to mention anything, but she had her on the phone and she really wanted to help both of her friends.

"I guess, what?"

"With all of the research we do here related to finding factual information to prove everything we think we know about a case, I'm wondering how you would explain alternative medicine to a jury. I mean… what would you say about its merits?"

Brennan was silent for a moment. Booth must have been talking. She was irritated. How dare he go to the lab with their personal issues. "Okay, so I see Booth has been there discussing my pregnancy. I've done my research, Cam. There is factual evidence. Besides, it's really none of your business."

"Don't get upset. I'm just trying to help. I'm just saying that the reason it's 'alternative' medicine is because no one can prove its benefit in a study. You know that. But here's the thing you don't know, or don't want to deal with, I think you're reaching for anything that will make you feel better about being needy and less like Brennan super doctor when you really should be just leaning on the man who loves you."

"Cam, Angela says that people overstep and insert themselves into other people's lives because they care. So I want you to know that I understand that you're showing concern here, but what I do regarding my health and the health of this baby is really my business and my decision. Please don't ask about this again."

"Alright, Brennan. Understood. Just please try to at least think about what I said. End of conversation. Have a good night."

"You too, Cam. And I really do miss you all." Brennan hung up and leaned back on the couch.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 8 – Conflict**

Booth pushed the door open with one hand while carefully balancing a grocery bag in the other. When he'd eased in, he pushed the door closed with his back and clicked the lock. The apartment was dark. He'd been in the office late tonight due to a last minute change in a case he was helping another agent research. Bones must be asleep he thought. As he placed the bag down on the kitchen counter, threw his keys down and started walking towards their bedroom, he tripped on something in the dark and hit the light. When his eyes adjusted, he saw Bones curled up on the couch. The light woke her. She stirred and opened her eyes to look at him. Immediately she rose up and steadied herself for the discussion she'd prepared to have.

"Sorry, I'm late. You didn't have to wait up for me. You should have just gone to bed."

"I was waiting up for you, but for a different reason," She said, working to separate her emotion from the discussion.

"Ok… what's up?"

"You still haven't gotten over me choosing to seek alternate medical assistance, have you?"

Booth was wondering why this was a discussion they needed to have now, but answered. "I'm working through it, but if you're asking me if I'm okay with it now. The answer would still have to be no."

"I know that's the answer, and I also know that you're not keeping what should be between us between us." She tried to maintain control in her voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"I talked to Cam today, and she happened to mention that she was a little confused as to why I would make the choice."

"Bones, I didn't talk to Cam today…" he began.

She interrupted. "I know. She overheard a discussion you were having with Angela."

"Ok, so now I can't talk to Angela, a woman who has a baby and happens to be your best friend?"

"That's not the point. The point is you're blurring the line. What happens in this home with our baby should be our business. Not the teams." She stood and glared at him.

"Wait a second. You get to make a monumental decision that you know I fundamentally disagree with about our child and I can't talk to anyone about it? Is that what you're saying?" Now, he was angry.

"God, Booth… Get over it!" She turned away from him and sighed.

"Don't turn your back on me! That's not fair!"

"Not fair? What's not fair is that any other time I could make a decision about my life without having to make everyone okay with it!"

"Now who's being emotional? If the decision was based on facts, on real, true evidence, maybe you would have more people backing your play here, Bones. But for probably the first time in your life, you're so far from rational you can't even remember what it looks like!" Booth pulled his jacket off and threw it on the chair behind him. "You just refuse to even consider that this is crazy!"

"No, what I'm understanding is that THIS may not work." She didn't really mean it. The statement flew out of her mouth before she could think. The gamesman in her just wanted to win the argument, to get everyone especially Booth to stop acting as if she was devoid of basic reasoning. Booth quickly stepped back as if she'd thrown a dagger between his eyes. He stood in the middle of the silent room and looked at her.

"What does that mean?"

She raised her chin and steadied her gaze. "I just… I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm tired. I'm going to bed." She turned on her heel and before he could stop her, nearly ran to their bedroom and slammed the door.

Booth stood still in the middle of the living room. What was happening? After all they had been through, this was going to be their undoing? It was impossible to imagine. They were bringing a child into the world, a complete manifestation of their love for each other, and what challenges they'd overcome to finally be together, and the pregnancy was going to tear them apart? He couldn't conceive of it. But at the same time, he couldn't make himself okay with backing a decision that was so irrational. He had to stop her. Period.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 9 – Blame**

A loud sound immediately woke Booth from his sleep. Due to the fight, he'd been tossing and turning since midnight on the uncomfortable couch. When he'd registered what he was hearing and where it was coming from, he jumped up and ran for the bedroom. Bones was on the floor having a full fledged seizure. Booth tried to hold her but she was moving in and out of his grasp. He desperately grabbed her cell phone on the nightstand and called 911.

"Yes, I need an ambulance! My girlfriend is having a seizure! Come now! 134 Akers Avenue. Hurry!"

He hung up the phone and tried to steady her. "Come on, baby… it'll be okay. I got you. They're coming. It'll be okay, " He pulled her up and put his arms around her to protect her from hitting anything but his body. When she started calming down, he heard the sirens.

* * *

><p>He heard the click of Angela's heels first, then, her voice around the corner.<p>

"I'm here about Dr. Temperance Brennan. Where is she?" She said quickly to what he assumed was one of the nurses at the ER desk down the hall.

He lifted his head from the wall and tried to figure out how he could act like he wasn't as terrified as he actually was.

The nurse answered. "She still can't have guests yet, but her boyfriend is around the corner in the waiting room. You can join him."

Instantly, he heard her move faster. When he finally saw her come around the corner, he let out a breath.

"Oh my god, Booth. What happened? Why are we here?"

"She had a seizure. We had a fight. I slept on the couch and I woke up to the sound of her hitting the floor." He rolled his neck and tried to move the image out of his head.

"Is she okay?" She said sitting down next to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him.

"They say she is, but they won't let me see her. I need to see her."

"Ok. I'm sure they'll let you. They must just be trying to make sure she's stable. It's that damn alternative treatment. She's got to go back to her regular doctor."

Booth shook his head. "No… this was my fault," his voice caught in his throat and he wiped a tear that immediately pooled in his eye. "I pushed too hard. It was the stress. All she wants to do is have this baby and I keep giving her grief about how she wants to do it." He leaned back in the chair and placed his hand over his eyes.

"Stop blaming yourself. You're trying to make this as easy as possible. I know that. You're trying to protect her. "

"But is it worth it, Angela? I mean… if I lose her anyway, is it worth it? I know how to run in front of a bullet for her or lay on top of her during an explosion. I know how to give my life for hers. I'd do it in the blink of an eye, but this? I don't know how to get in front of this. I don't know how to push her out of the way."

"Mr. Booth?" Dr. Edwards interrupted as she entered the waiting room.

Booth immediately stood and grabbed his jacket. "Can I see her now? "

"Yes, we have her pretty stable. The baby is okay. I just feel strongly that we're going to need to keep her here until she delivers. I don't want another incident happening at home."

"That's fine. Whatever she needs… Did she tell you about the alternative treatments? Is that what caused this? "

"I don't know. But I have hard core science that tells me that the medicines we will use to treat her here will keep her alive and deliver a healthy baby."

"Ok." Booth shook the doctor's hand, looked at Angela and turned to hurry down the hallway.

When he got to her room, he paused to steady himself. Slowly, he pushed the door open and walked inside. She was laying in the bed watching the TV in the corner of the room. When she heard him, she turned and immediately started crying.

"No, Bones… Don't do that… Come on." He grabbed her hand as he moved to kiss her on the cheek.

"I'm so sorry. I thought I knew what I was doing. I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay. You and the baby are fine."

"But… Oh my god, what could have happened? I can't even think about it." She said through tears.

"Stop it. We're okay. That's all that matters."

"You tried to tell me… I was so hard headed. You were right." She sniffed as he pulled a kleenex from the box sitting on the table and started patting her face.

"Did you just say I was right?" He smiled, "They must really have some good stuff flowing through that IV."

The joke made her smile, but it faded quickly. "I know I scared you. I can't imagine how much. Seeing me on that floor must have been…"

He stopped her, "It was the worst moment of my life, Bones. Honestly, the worst. I just didn't know what to do. I thought I might lose you."

"I know." She moved their linked hands up to her face and kissed the back of his hand. They remained silent for a moment and just looked at each other. Booth slid his feet out of his shoes, lowered the bed rail, and carefully nudged her to one side. When he'd eased into the twin bed, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight.

"I love you… always," he whispered into her ear.

"Me too…always," she said as she fell back to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 10 – Reflection**

For the last week and a half, Booth had basically lived at DC Memorial Hospital. He'd taken a leave from work, brought the necessary items and pretty much stayed by her bedside. Fortunately, they'd moved to a pregnancy suite on the fifth floor that was roomier and stocked with more amenities, the luck of a mother that had a little money to throw around. After multiple trips to the hospital cafeteria, tonight, he had a craving for a good cheeseburger. He'd tried to ignore it, but at about 11 pm he couldn't take it anymore. When he got up to go, Brennan tried to convince him to bring her one too, but there was no way he was going to be responsible for putting that much fat in her system even after she broke down her medical understanding of what a burger would not do. She pouted but got over it when her specially ordered grilled cheese and tomato soup was delivered. As the nurse slipped in to check her IV, he grabbed his jacket and hurried out the door.

Walking back to the hospital with greasy bag in hand, he imagined what their daughter would look like. Since Brennan had been diagnosed, he hadn't been able to allow himself the indulgence. He was too worried, too busy trying to keep them safe. Now, as he walked by the school playground across the street he envisioned pushing his small, sweet daughter on the swing. He knew she would have Brennan's soft chocolate brown hair and striking blue eyes. He could already imagine trying to simplify her mother's explanations of why the sky was blue or tree leaves were green. He couldn't wait for her to meet gramps and Parker. She would have all of them wrapped around her finger. Brennan already did. This smaller version would be a handful, and he knew the sweet, open, loving way Parker took care of his pet turtles was just training for the protection he would bestow on her as big brother. It was going to be mess he thought smiling to himself.

Brennan finished the last of her tomato soup with two slow spoonfuls. This was much better than that burger was going to be she tried to convince herself. At least it was comfort food. She leaned back in the bed, reached for the remote control, and waited for Booth to come back. She smiled. He was the only man she'd known that would get burger cravings so intense that he would rise up in the middle of the night. She wondered if it was a trait he would pass on to their daughter, and smiled at the thought that he could be the one telling her that she couldn't have cookies and milk at 2 in the morning. While in the hospital, she'd found herself dreaming of her. She was beautiful, with Booth's expressive eyes and big heart. She couldn't wait to watch him with their daughter. He was putty in Parker's hands, but with a girl she knew it would be much worse. He was at his heart an old school knight in shining armor. The trait would be multiplied by 10 with a small little girl who called him "daddy". On the surface, he was going to be the exact opposite of the father she'd had. But the more she'd grown to know Max, the more she understood that he and Booth were more alike than they wanted to realize. Both loved hard. Both would do anything to protect that love. The vast difference was in their approach. Max's core beliefs were rooted in acting in any way necessary to protect what belonged to him, while Booth's were rooted in the greater good, a deeper understanding of what was inherently right and wrong. It was that conviction that caused her join him in solving murders, instead of traveling the world finding archeological digs. The idea that her daughter would be raised in that same love and conviction was beyond wonderful to her. No matter how much Booth questioned his parenting skills, Parker was an exceptional boy who had the courage to open his heart and do what was right because Booth was his father. She loved that her child would have the same instincts.

While she had no doubts where he was concerned, she continued to hope that she would be a good mother. She'd changed over the years. Now, she had more empathy, allowed herself the freedom to feel her emotions, and opened herself to the idea that logic wasn't always king. He'd forced this change, and she'd fought it kicking and screaming. But ultimately, it was what now had her waiting to be introduced to a little girl that she knew she would love beyond reason. With that happy thought, she turned over and drifted to sleep.

Booth quietly entered the room to the soft sounds of Brennan's sleepy breathing. It was midnight. He reached over to retrieve the remote from the blanket tucked around her leg and turned the TV to CNN. As he gently unwrapped the paper and took his first bite of the burger he'd been craving, Anderson Cooper caught him up on the day's world events – a shooting at a high school, a United Nations meeting, a presidential trip to London, a rapist loose in Montana, a robbery at a mall in New Jersey. He sighed. It was a wonder anyone brought a baby into the world without going crazy. Before he met her, his first hand knowledge of it made him not want to have any more children. But somewhere in between when he'd finally come to grips with the idea that he was actually in love with her and when she'd finally kissed him and meant it, his position changed. He'd silently wanted their child way before she'd actually told him she was pregnant. To him, it was evidence of what he'd already known from the start. They were destined to be linked together for the rest of their lives.

Booth threw the trash away and pulled the bed out of the bottom of the sleep sofa in the corner. He laid down and watched her for a moment. She was so beautiful. He still had a hard time understanding his luck. He thanked God every day that he was smart enough to follow Cam's suggestion to find her in the first place. It had been a long road but somehow they'd finally come together. It took shifts in both of their personalities and dramatic changes in their lives to push and pull them where they needed to be, but they were here and he couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Smiling, he drifted off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 11 – Delivery**

Brennan woke up with a jolt of pain. Without fully understanding why, she reached for the call button next to the bed. Before she could find it in the sheets, another wave of pain hit her and she grabbed her stomach. Then, she felt the wet bed.

"Booth!" She yelled urgently to wake him.

"huh!" He sprung up into sitting position as soon as he heard her voice.

"I can't find the call button. I'm in labor. My water broke while I was sleeping."

Jumping to action, he hurried to the bed, pulled the remote from the floor, and pushed the button twice.

"Are you okay?"

"Ye.. Yes… I'm okay." She said gripping the bed rail. She breathed in deeply.

"Ok," he said, grabbing her hand. "We're ready for this, right? We know what to do."

"Yes…" she looked into his eyes and nodded.

The door swung open and the morning nurse rushed in. "Is there something wrong, Dr. Brennan?"

Booth waved her in. "She's in labor. Her water broke."

"Alright." She replied calmly. "Then, we're ready. I'll page the doctor." She hurried back out of the room while Booth reached for his phone. He'd promised the team that he would let them know as soon as she felt a contraction. He found the saved contact list, quickly typed "in labor", and pressed send. Throwing the phone down on the nightstand, he re-focused his attention on her. The love of his life was now focused. He could see her running through the list of things she needed to do…. breathe deeply, don't panic, brace for the contraction. She was nothing if not thorough. He heard the machine next to her beep and realized that it was an indication of another building contraction. Her brow furrowed and for the first time she yelled. He quickly pulled the bed rail down and slid in halfway to try to put one arm around her. When the pain subsided, she leaned back into his embrace and looked at him.

"Whose idea was this anyway?"

He smiled. "Yours, remember?" He grabbed a tissue and wiped the sweat that was beginning to form on her forehead.

"Did you call Angela?" She said as her breathing slowed.

"Yep, as promised. I sent a text to the team about 20 seconds after the nurse left."

"Good. She would be mad."

"Well, we don't want her mad… " he said sarcastically.

The contractions were coming about 20 minutes apart he noted looking at the clock on the desk. From what he remembered about Parker's birth that meant they had a little while to go. He needed to at least distract her while they waited. He turned the TV on and started moving through the channels.

"What are you doing?" She glared at him.

"I think it's going to be a minute before our daughter decides to show up. I'm trying to find something to entertain us."

He flipped through some more channels and noticed "The Science Dude" was on. After working with Dr. Jude, Brennan had fully changed her opinion of the guy. One late night, she'd even indicated that she wanted their daughter to watch him as part of her early childhood development plan. She perked up when he turned the show on.

"I wonder what experiment he's doing today?"

Bingo. He pulled the chair in the corner closer to the bed and got comfortable.

#################################################

"So… we're ready to have a baby…" Dr. Anderson said breezing into the room.

It had been about two hours, and six contractions. He'd been wondering where the hell she was.

"How are you doing, Dr. Brennan?"

She let go of Booth's hand and pushed herself up slightly in the bed to look at her.

"Booth said the contractions were about 20 minutes apart, but I think they're coming faster… now…. OW!"

Before she could finish the sentence another one hit, Booth stood up and ran his fingers through her hair to try to calm her. She gripped his arm and breathed hard.

"Ok, it sounds like we might be getting close. Let me take a look." Gently she placed Brennan's legs in the stirrups to check dilation. "Yep, maybe another hour and we'll be at end of job."

"Hour?" Brennan replied with irritation. Then she turned to Booth with glare. "I told you we should have had a C-Section."

Hodgins told him about this part. The part where the woman who claims to love you with all of her heart starts to rip your head off because of the pain she's feeling. He paused for a minute to think carefully about his reply.

"But honey, don't you remember that all the research said that it was safer to wait and do this naturally?"

"It wasn't conclusive! And, DON'T call me honey! " She laid her head back down on the pillow and reached over to grab an ice chip.

"Ok… " he decided it was probably better that he just try to be quiet. He turned his attention to Dr. Anderson who was in the corner still perusing the medical file, making notes.

"Doctor, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Outside…" Booth nodded to the hallway.

"Ok," she turned back to Brennan. "No worries. You'll have your daughter with you shortly." She patted her foot, and walked towards the door.

"I'll be right back, Bones, just need to talk to the doc for a minute. Not that you're not going to, but yell if you need something." he said as he followed the doctor into the hallway.

When the door closed, he quickly turned to look at her. "What do I need to know about delivery?"

"You mean as it relates to the preeclampsia? We've been monitoring her and she seems to be pretty stable. We'll put in an IV to attempt to control the pressure, but I think we're going to be fine. I can't promise it but I feel pretty confident."

"I need you to be more than confident, doc. We're talking about my life here. Is there anything I can do in delivery to help?"

"Just keep her calm, Mr. Booth."

"I can do that."

"OH!" He heard Brennan yell from inside the room.

"That's my cue." As he turned to quickly push the door open, he nodded at the doctor and she gave him the thumbs up.

"The nurse will keep me posted while I'm doing rounds. I'm sure I'll be back pretty soon."

The door closed behind him as he rushed to her. Her face was red and she frowned as she tried to brace through the pain. She glared at him again.

"What was taking you so long?"

"I was just checking in. I wanted to make sure all of our paperwork was in order."

She leaned back on the pillow and took a deep breath. "You're lying. You wanted to make sure everything was alright."

"Well, Bones… if you knew that, why did you ask?"

"Wanted to see if you would tell me. She said I was fine, right?"

"Pretty much."

"But you're still worried."

"Pretty much…" He fluffed the pillows behind her and ran his hand over her head.

"So am I." She said looking up at him.

Booth leaned down to kiss her and whispered. "Whatever happens we can handle it."

"You really think so?" It was a rare moment when she was uncertain. He'd seen it only a few times since he'd known her – when her father and brother came back into her life, when she'd faced the Gravedigger, when she'd finally owned up to the feelings she had for him. Every time he'd seen it, it was so out of character for her that it actually pained him.

"Absolutely, I know how strong you are, and you will not let her down."

She smiled and then frowned as another contraction hit. She gripped his hand as she breathed her way through it. Through gritted teeth she forced out, "I don't know she may be stronger!"

He laughed, "Well, we know where she gets it from."

The door suddenly swung open. "Looks like we're ready to roll. Dr. Brennan, Mr. Booth, it's time to have this baby." The nurse said as she walked to the bed and unlocked the wheel brake. "Dr. Anderson will meet you in the delivery room."

Booth quickly grabbed the duffle bag on the floor and dug for the blanket at the bottom. She'd told him it was a Basotho blanket that was given to her by a friend when she was at a dig in South Africa. It was custom that a newborn child be wrapped in it. At the time, she'd accepted the special gift knowing that she didn't want children. The day she found out she was actually pregnant, she searched for it in her closet. As soon as she pulled it out of its box and touched it, she'd decided that it would be the first thing their child would be wrapped in when she was born.

"Booth… " she called as they rolled her out the door.

"I'm right behind you. Had to get the blanket." He said hurrying out behind the nurse as she pushed the bed.

################################################

"Babe… will you sit down?" Hodgins had spent the better part of 20 minutes just watching his wife pace the waiting room and he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Huh… what?" She shook herself out her thoughts to answer.

"The pacing. It's getting unreasonable. Please sit down. She's going to be fine."

She turned to look at him. "Then why haven't they come out yet?"

"I don't know, but he also hasn't come out here to tell us something is wrong."

"Well, I wish he'd hurry the hell up." She said plopping down in the seat next to him. Her cell phone rang.

"Hi Cam. Yeah, just park in the lot next to sign that says delivery. When you walk in the doors, we'll be on the left." She waited. "No, nothing yet… Ok, see you in a minute." She hit the end button, dropped the phone back into her purse, and looked at Hodgins.

"Sweets rode with Cam. They should be here in a minute."

"Ok." He said leaning back in the seat. He picked up one of the magazines on the side table.

"How can you be so calm?"

"I don't know… because she's got the best doctors, because she's the healthiest woman on earth, because Booth is with her. Maybe you should follow my example."

"Are you saying I'm being a little high strung?" She folded her arms and leaned back in the chair.

He leaned over to touch her face gently. "I'm not only saying it, I'm screaming it." He smirked and leaned back to continue flipping through the pages.

"So we don't have a baby yet?" Sweets said turning the corner into the waiting room. Cam followed him in holding a big pink bear.

"You know the answer to that question. " Angela looked up at him.

"What's taking so long?" They sat down in the seats across from them.

She glanced down at her watch, "My sentiments exactly."

##############################################

"Ok, Bones… PUSH!" Booth gripped her hand and put his other arm around her neck for support. He was hidden in a hospital gown and face mask, but she locked in on his eyes and beared down.

"Aw… ugh!" she yelled pushing as hard as she could through the contraction. She was tired. He'd never seen her so tired before. He grabbed the tissue next to him and mopped her forehead. She stopped to breathe and fell back into his arms.

He lowered his head and whispered to her. "We're almost there, okay? I know you're tired, but she's almost here. "

"I don't know if I have any more strength."

"It's there. I promise. It's there. " He felt her tense again as another contraction hit.

"I love you. PUSH!"

She lifted and pushed using all the strength she had left.

"Waaa… Waaa…." She finally heard a baby cry, and suddenly, she felt empty.

Booth kissed her. "She's here! You did it!" He leaned up and watched the doctor pull the crying baby up to lay her on a soft blanket to clean her. "She's beautiful!" He kissed her again. She noticed his eyes were filled with tears.

As she regained her strength, she looked over to try to see her daughter. She could only see the backs of Dr. Anderson and the nurse as they huddled over the small child. Then, they turned to face her with a small bundle wrapped in the colorful blanket Booth had given them. When they put her in Brennan's arms and she finally saw her little eyes, her heart filled with a flood of emotion she'd never felt before. Booth leaned over to kiss the top of her small head and smiled. She'd never imagined she would ever be in this moment. She and Booth had created a family. The moment they'd finally given in and she'd felt Booth's lips on her lips, her neck and everywhere else, she knew there would be no going back. She'd always known. That was why she was fighting it so hard. It was the night she looked into his eyes and felt so deeply she had a hard time minimizing the emotion to the word "love". It was something else. Something far deeper. Something that was beyond what she could ever have imagined. All she wanted in the world was to be with him forever. The mere thought was so completely out of character for her it terrified her immediately.

The little miracle that was now moving and cooing in her arms was the product of her turning away from that fear, forcing herself to embrace the new path her life had taken, and following her heart. And as she brushed her cheek against her daughter's soft newborn skin, she silently thanked Booth for being so sexy, strong, smart, loving and charismatic that she wanted him enough to jostle herself out of her stagnant existence. She touched the baby's small tiny lips and looked back up at him.

"I love you…" she whispered.

He nodded and smiled, "back at you, Bones… since the day I met you."

"She looks like you."

"Really? I think she looks more like you. Look at those eyes and that cute little nose."

"But her mandible looks to be more square like yours and her maxilla is a bit smaller than mine… "

"Just trust me she's as beautiful as you are. I don't know what I'm going to do when she gets older. "

"Aw… when will you bring Parker to meet her?" She said smiling down at her.

"I'm going to pick him up tomorrow and bring him down. Thought I would give us a moment to just be still."

"Do you think everyone is waiting?"

"I'm sure they are, but I can't move. I just want to stay here and look at you both."

"Booth… you've got to go tell them she's here. They'll be worried."

"Alright, just give me two more minutes." He watched their daughter watch them. He could see her trying to figure out who they were. He leaned in close and whispered, "We're your parents, and we'll love and protect you until the day we die."

Brennan looked back up at him. "Ok, I'm going, but I won't be gone long." He kissed her head and quickly walked out the door.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 12 – Panic**

"It's about time…" Angela said looking toward the hallway. Hodgins looked up from his magazine and followed his wife's gaze toward Booth hurrying towards them.

She stood. "Tell me she's here… "

"She is. Our daughter decided to arrive about 20 minutes ago," Booth said as he entered the waiting room. "She's beautiful and so is her mother," he said with a smile.

"Fantastic!" Sweets stood up and gave Booth a big hug. Cam and Angela followed.

"What room is she in?" Angela said picking up her purse.

"They haven't moved her yet. I came straight from the delivery room. When we get to… "

"Mr. Booth!"

Booth turned quickly towards the direction of the panicked yell.

"Mr. Booth! Come with me now!" It was the nurse who had been in the delivery room. Her face was serious and urgent.

His heart immediately jumped out of his chest. There was a problem. He saw it all over her face. He turned on his heel and sprinted down the hallway to meet her where she stood. She didn't say anything more, grabbing him by his arm and rushing him back towards the room.

Dr. Anderson met him at the double doors. She started speaking quickly as soon as she looked into his frightened eyes.

"Her blood pressure suddenly sky rocketed and she had another seizure," she said reaching out to touch his arm. "We're trying to bring her blood pressure down now, but she's unconscious. We're running tests to make sure we don't have any other problems going on."

"You said she was fine. You said you were monitoring the situation and she was going to be fine! "

"All her vitals were fine and then it just fell apart. I don't know why but we're trying to stabilize her right now."

"Where is the baby?"

"Dr. Brennan's instincts kicked in. She yelled for someone to take the baby two seconds before the seizure hit her. The nurse got there just in time. Your daughter is safe in the nursery."

"I have to see her," Booth said moving towards the doors.

Dr. Anderson moved to stop him. "I can let you in there for just a minute. Then, you have to let us do our job."

She guided him through the door. When they got to Brennan's bed and pushed the curtains back, he stopped suddenly in disbelief. The first thing he thought when he saw her was she was hooked up to far too many medical devices. Things were beeping and clicking all in a coordinated effort to keep her stable. He approached the bed slowly, looked at her and shook his head in an effort to get a grasp of what was happening. He'd just left her smiling, holding their baby, vibrant and full of joy. Now, she was just laying there motionless. His eyes teared and he tried to get a grip before he lost it. Pulling the closest chair up to the bed, he sat down as close to her face as possible and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"You listen to me, Bones," he whispered. "You are not going to do this. Not now. Not when that beautiful girl is waiting to know you, to call you 'Mommy'. Not when we're finally just starting our lives together. You fight. Do you hear me? Fight. You can't leave us now. Do what you know how to do. Focus on what needs to be done and make it happen." As he stood up to kiss her lips, a tear that had formed in his eye slid down and splashed on her face. He wiped it with his fingertips. "I love you and you have to fight." He kissed her one more time before Dr. Anderson appeared at his side.

"Nurse Miller is going to take you to see your daughter," she said nodding to the small gray haired woman standing quietly in the corner next to the door. "Dr. Brennan is strong you know that. She's strong enough to withstand this. Let us help her and go see your child. She'd want you do that. Wouldn't she? I'll call you when the test are complete and we can move her out of ICU. You can meet us in her room."

Booth nodded grabbed Brennan's hand once more and turned to follow the nurse out of the room. He managed to get outside before his control fell apart. Bracing himself against the hallway wall, he bent his head to hide his tear streaked face as the emotion he'd been trying to hold in broke like a dam.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Fear in the Fight**

**Chapter 13 – Denial**

"Booth…"

First, he thought he was dreaming. Then, he felt a hand gently shaking him awake. Afraid something horrible had happened, he opened his eyes quickly and nearly jumped out of the chair.

"Wait… hold on… It's okay." Max put his hand up to keep Booth from moving. He blinked his eyes and focused.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted you to know I was here," he continued. Booth blinked again, and realized sadly that the last two days had not been a nightmare. He was still sitting in a hospital room waiting on the love of his life to come back to him.

"How long have you been here?" he said as he slowly lifted himself from his position on the couch to put his feet on the floor.

"Not long." Max handed him a paper Starbucks cup filled with hot coffee. "Any change?"

"Not yet. Based on what the doctor is saying, she could wake up any minute now. I just wish she would."

About 30 minutes after Booth had finally gotten himself together and walked with the nurse to see their daughter in the nursery, Dr. Anderson called him to come down to the private room they'd put Bones in. As he held her limp hand, the doctor explained that she was in a coma. The seizure she'd suffered in the delivery room had apparently been quickly followed by another. Her brain hadn't had time to recover so it was now, in her words, trying to heal by resting. All her other vital signs were fine. All her tests had come back negative. They just had to wait. The problem was the longer it took for her to open her eyes the more risk there was that she wouldn't.

Booth had never been good at waiting. Patience was not his strong suit, but for the past three days he'd been trying. He attempted to work at her bedside. He talked to her. He watched TV shows she enjoyed. The team had come by too, even though he eventually kicked them out because he couldn't stand to see their sad faces anymore. He only left her to go to the nursery. Their daughter was beautiful, but while he rocked her to sleep he berated himself for wondering where they would be if she hadn't gotten pregnant.

He missed Bones more than he ever thought was possible. When they were apart for the six months she'd gone to the Maluku islands and he'd decided to go back to training in the army, he'd missed her face, her voice, her companionship. He knew he loved her, but the time away confirmed how deep the love was. It was painful, but this, this was damn near unbearable. Now, he knew what it was like to hold her, to kiss her, to make love to her, to hear her love for him in the way she said his name. He couldn't fathom one more minute without her. Every day that passed was like a knife in his chest.

Max leaned down to kiss her face. "She looks good. A little rosier than she was yesterday," he said looking at Booth for confirmation.

"I guess."

"How are you doing? Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Does it really matter, Max? " He'd said it with a little more consternation that he'd intended. Max picked up on it and pounced.

"Are you mad at me or her, Booth? Your tone says it's one of us," Max brushed the bangs from her forehead.

"Neither. Why would you say that?"

"Come on… I heard it. Just tell me. Get it off your chest. I know you want to always be the hero, but sometimes even heroes can't dodge human nature."

Booth sighed. "Max, I'm fine. Really."

"I see…." He said sitting down in the chair facing him. Booth had always been a tough nut to crack but of two things he was sure. He loved his daughter with every fiber of his being, and he would kill or harm anything or anyone who ever tried to hurt her. Both certainties drew Max to only one conclusion. Booth had been sitting in this hospital room for the past three days hating himself for blaming his daughter for hurting the woman he loved. There was no way he was going to say that out loud. No way he would even consciously own up to it. It was too horrible, too completely unreasonable for him to even accept it.

Max knew Temperance was going to open her eyes soon and when she did, he wanted her family in one piece. Plus he'd come to like his faux son-in-law, and he didn't enjoy seeing him beating himself up. He had to help him whether he liked it or not.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Booth stood quickly and put on his shoes. "I'm going down to grab some breakfast. Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm good. Used to just coffee in the morning. I'll hold down the fort." Max said picking up a magazine casually.

"Alright, I'll be back soon." Booth ran a hand through his uncombed hair, pulled the heavy hospital room door and eased out of the room.

As soon as the door clicked, Max grabbed his phone and dialed quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hi Sweets. It's Max."

"Has something happened? Is Dr. Brennan ok?" He'd never received a call from Brennan's father so Sweets immediately went into panic mode.

"No. Nothing's changed here." Max said matter of factly.

"Ok… ? Then, what can I do for you?"

"I need you to get your ass down here and fix my daughter's boyfriend."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 ~ Guilt

Sweets looked up at the sound of his office door opening quickly, and steadied himself for what he knew was going to be a difficult conversation.

"So... What's the situation, Sweets?" Booth stood in the middle of the room in jeans and an old army sweatshirt. "What couldn't wait?"

"Don't you want to sit down?" He closed the file he'd been studying, and switched his attention to the real, live problem that was standing in front of him.

"Not necessarily, you're lucky you're even looking at me. I spent the better part of my drive over wondering why what ever this is couldn't be handled over the phone."

Sweets knew he needed to proceed carefully. He'd observed how Booth was handling Dr. Brennan's current situation and it wasn't going well. As much as he tried to hide it from the team, he was hurting, badly, and he wasn't talking to anyone about it. The funny thing was he really thought his masquerade was working. That no one, not even Max or Angela, could pick up on what was going on in his head.

"Look, I need to talk to you. You're not going to like it, but it needs to be done because you're our friend and we care about you." Sweets said as he rose to block the door.

Booth's eyes narrowed. "So if this is not about the case, what is it about?"

"It's about you and how you're handling this situation."

"Right," he said sarcastically. "Of course it is, because there is a textbook way of handling the love of your life slipping into a coma immediately following giving birth to your child. Right, Sweets?" Booth darted for the door just as Sweets secured his spot in front of it. "Get out of my way."

"Just hear me out," he said putting his hand up. "I'm a psychiatrist and I'm your friend. I'm trying to help here."

"How are you trying to help? By pulling me away from her bedside for some bullshit!"

"No, by trying to get you to see that you have to talk about this to be able to move through it."

"Move through what? She's going to wake up."

"What if she doesn't, Huh? What if you have to take care of your daughter without her?"

"THAT is not going to happen."

"How do you know that? Sheer will?"

"No, God wouldn't do that to me." Booth said as he turned, put his hands to his face, and wilted into the sofa.

"God does a lot of things people don't understand, Booth. I know you're hurting. I get it. But you have to let me help. For me and for you."

"What do you mean for you?"

"You think this is any easier for me? I love you both. I want her to wake up just as bad as you do, and I feel like I'm useless. At least if I can make this the tiniest bit easier for you, the degrees will be worth it."

"You can't. There is not one thing you can say to me that will make me okay with her not getting up and walking out of that hospital. Period."

"But the point is, if she doesn't you have to raise that child. And what I'm trying to do is help you at least begin to do that."

"Of course I'll raise her. How can you act as if I won't?"

"Some fathers have a hard time connecting with a child that is the cause of their significant other having a crisis." Sweets said sitting down in the chair beside him.

"Some fathers. That's not me. You should know that." Booth shot Sweets a look that was supposed to be anger, but all he saw was guilt.

"Let me just ask you a question. When's the last time you visited your daughter in the nursery?"

"I haven't had time. Bones needs me." He said immediately.

Sweets leaned back in the chair. "I hear you. Just tell me when you did have time?"

"I don't know..."

"Two days, three days, how long?"

"I don't know, Sweets.. I guess Wednesday. That would be three days."

"You haven't seen your daughter in three days, Booth? That doesn't seem odd to you?"

"Not in this particular situation. The nurses are taking care of her."

"Yeah, but normally you would be taking care of her. Wouldn't you? You and Brennan would be home taking care of her. So why aren't you taking care of her now?"

"There's an explanation... " Booth began, but Sweets interrupted.

"And what's her name?"

"Huh," Booth looked at him like he'd grown another head. "What do you mean? Of course, I haven't named her. Bones is going to do that."

"She's been in the hospital for a week now. You don't think you should go ahead and name her?"

"No." Booth's steel gaze quickly turned into fiery anger. "What are you trying to do here? Convince me that she's not going to wake up?!"

"Listen to me. I want her to be okay. I do, but she would want you to stop putting yourself through this."

"Putting myself through what? I haven't named her because..."

"You're having a hard time looking at her. Right? You're having a hard time reconciling that you should care about someone who has taken the thing you care about the most away. Am I getting warm here?"

Booth suddenly moved on the couch as thought he'd been hit by an arrow. Immediately, he shifted his gaze to look at the wall behind Sweets in an attempt to not meet his eyes.

"That's not true." He said quietly. "I wouldn't do that."

"The Booth that was here two weeks ago wouldn't, but the one that is scared to death that his reason for living is about to leave him forever might. It's human, Booth. You're strong, but you're not that strong."

Booth leaned back in his chair and focused on blinking away the moisture that was developing in his eyes. He shifted in the seat. "If that was the case, how could it be fixed? I mean... apart from her waking up and everything being alright again."

"Time. You have to go see her. Brennan needs you, but your daughter is part of her and she needs you too."

"I don't know how to stop blaming her." He whispered as he leaned back on the couch. "I keep trying, but every time I think it will go away I look into her eyes and see her mother. I don't know how to deal with it. Instead of grieving, I get angry."

"I know. Max told me."

"What? How would Max know?"

"He's a father. He's been in that room with you for days. You don't think he has a sense of what's going on?"

"He's the one who called you, isn't he?"

"He was worried. He wanted to help. Like we all do. Look, let's just take this step by step. If she doesn't come out of this in the next week, we'll talk more and figure out what to do next."

Booth rose off the couch, opened the door, and turned back to Sweets.

"I love them so much, Sweets. If you can help, I'll take it."

Sweets watched as he walked out quickly, and vowed he would do anything he could for his friend.


End file.
